Wikipedia editors have decided to eliminate all links to Archive.today, a web archiving service that has been referenced more than 695,000 times across the online encyclopedia.
Archive.today, also known by domain names like archive.is and archive.ph, is commonly used to access paywalled content, providing a valuable source for Wikipedia citations.
However, a Wikipedia discussion page highlights a consensus to deprecate archive.today, add it to the spam blacklist, and remove all links to it. Ars Technica reported on this decision.
Previously blacklisted in 2013 and removed from the blacklist in 2016, archive.today is again under scrutiny. The page suggests Wikipedia shouldn’t direct users to a site involved in a DDoS attack, with evidence of altered archived pages undermining its reliability.
A DDoS attack allegedly targeted blogger Jani Patokallio. Beginning January 11, users loading archive’s CAPTCHA executed JavaScript, sending search requests to Patokallio’s Gyrovague blog, seemingly to drive up hosting costs.
In 2023, Patokallio analyzed Archive.today, calling its ownership “an opaque mystery,” speculating it’s run by a skilled Russian operator.
Recently, the webmaster of Archive.today requested Patokallio to remove his blog post temporarily, citing media misinterpretations. After Patokallio’s refusal, the webmaster sent threatening messages.
Wikipedia editors cited altered snapshots in Archive.today, inserting Patokallio’s name, which raised questions about its reliability as an archive.
Wikipedia now advises removing Archive.today links, replacing them with original sources or other archives like the Wayback Machine.
On a related blog, Archive.today’s presumed owner stated its value to Wikipedia lies not in circumventing paywalls but in addressing copyright concerns. They remarked on the outcome of scaling down the ‘DDoS’ and questioned tabloids’ silence on such dramas until now.